Oligopolists then and Now: A Study of the Meatpacking Industry (Economic ARTICLES‪)‬

ABSTRACT This paper explores the hypothesis that the meat packing industry has had an evolution that, even with public policy changes, continues to push the industry towards an oligopolistic structure (at times monopoly). The firms today, as in years past, continue to be highly motivated by consolidation and integration. The paper will begin by tracing the historical development of the meatpacking industry, the regulatory response to the industry, and finally discuss the literature and current consolidation within the industry. After doing this, the paper hopes to reveal that there is a common thread that runs through the meatpacking industry and that is that economies of scale and cost advantages of integration are the driving force in 2002 just as they were in 1900. It appears that in the case of the meatpacking industry history sometimes repeats itself.